Jaguar won’t do wagons anymore, says design chief--update

Jaguar won’t do wagons anymore, says design chief--update

Update: Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum said he was misquoted in the "Automotive News" article claiming he had ruled out Jaguar ever launching another wagon. Full details here.

Jaguar is done with wagons, the automaker's head designer says.

"The [wagon] market is massively shrinking," Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum told Automotive News (subscription required). "I’m very sad about it but it's a very difficult market to justify."

Jaguar scrapped its last wagon, the stunning Sportbrake based on the previous generation XF, when the all-new XF was introduced last year. Prior to that, Jaguar offered a wagon version of the X-Type compact sedan. Incidentally, it was the only Jaguar wagon ever sold in the United States.

Callum admitted that Europe is the only major market for wagons, and even that is dwindling due to increased interest in SUVs. The automaker's home market is Europe's second largest, but it is not historically as enthusiastic about wagons as central and northern Europe.

The U.S., meanwhile, has long been an SUV market. And emerging markets for Jaguar like China and the Middle East are similarly enthusiastic about high-riding vehicles when extra practicality is required.

To its credit, Jaguar has recently introduced its own SUV, the F-Pace.